daydrmgirl's Profile

Where to go for breakfast in Waikiki on Saturday? We'll be arriving in HNL that morning at 7am so after the shuttle drops us off at the hotel (say 9am), we just want to wander around and relax and eat by the beach before heading down to Honolulu. I'm thinking maybe Duke's. We're staying at Outrigger Reef - any other good places closer by? We just want something good and simple with a relaxing ambiance.

Then we're off to Honolulu/Chinatown to explore. What's a good local authentic "Hawaiian" hole-in-the-wall place to try? We are very adventurous eaters, so we're eager to try what Hawaii has to offer!

Hi chowhounders, I follow and post on the Texas board but my fiance and I are going to Hawaii for our honeymoon... so I turn to thee for help! I have a few questions but I'm going to put it in a few posts so it doesn't get confusing.

On the 2nd day of our honeymoon is my fiance's birthday. Last year, I took him to Roy's in Plano, TX and had a nice meal (food was good, but not great). This year, since we're going to be in Honolulu/Waikiki, I though, why not go to Roy's again? I did some research and it seems like there's a general agreement that the original Hawaii Kai/Honolulu location has the best food, but has no view of the water? It would be nice if we can see the water (otherwise, it's really not that different from eating at Roy's in Texas)... is that good enough of a reason to eat at the Waikiki location? I know you fellow chowhounders have high standards also so I trust your opinion. Please let me know what you think, thanks!

King's noodle serves authentic Taiwanese dishes. Their beef noodle and wonton noodle (or try the beef wonton noodle!) are delicious! As for the rice dishes, I like their pork chop or chicken drumstick rice. Having lived in Taipei till college and having been a foodie since my teenage years, I have to say that King's noodle does a hell of a good job in bringing a slice of all the yumminess Taiwan has to offer to Dallas!

For appetizers, I like pig ears but some people may not like the crunchy texture of cartilages. The thousand-year-old egg with tofu is good too. Oh, and get shaved ice for dessert (you pick 4 toppings). I personally like their taro balls and black sugar tapiocas a lot. I can't say I've branched out too much at King's yet because I still can't get enough of the ones I've tried so far! I haven't tried their Za Jiang Mein either just because it's very easy to make at home, but perhaps that should be the next thing that I try there!

First Chinese BBQ is so-so in my opinion. I like Ren Ji in Richardson. Their dumplings are good (I usually get beef) and most other dishes that I've tried there are good. We like Kirin Court for dimsum but will have to try HK royal some time.

Another note to add for going to chinese restaurants: you can ask them to cook with no MSG and less salt/soy sauce. It usually makes the food much better, in my opinion, and much healthier. I guess Taiwanese food is usually pretty light so Sichuanese and Cantonese food are usually too intense for me.

So after watching Pepin's cooking DVD, my boyfriend and I want to get a bone-in leg of lamb to play around with. We visited the butcher shop on Oak Lawn and they have boneless leg of lamb and it was kind of pricey (9.99/lb). They have boneless and partially bone-in (I think 6.99/lb) at Whole Foods. They don't have it at Costco, but Costco.com will ship a leg of lamb to you. The Costco.com one is fancy no-hormone, free-range, vegetarian lamb so of course it was expensive. Any idea where else can I find good lamb in Dallas? I'm probably going to try central market next. It's been on the top of my list of place to look but just haven't had a chance to stop by yet.

The other pertinent lamb question (we like lamb a lot): I've been looking for lamb meat with skin on. It's for a Taiwanese lamb stew that we love and miss. At H-mart, they have good old lamb stew meat which was skinless. I live near Love Field airport so I haven't gone up to Plano to check in the big Asian supermarkets up there yet. Have any of you come across any (preferably cubed) lamb with skin on up in Plano (or anywhere in/near Dallas)? I'm reluctant to drive up there without knowing for sure I'll get something since it's really quite a trek for us to go up.

Let's see... I've tried Orange Cup, Natsumi, BerryBerry, and Yogurtland, and I have to say that Yogurtland is my hands-down favorite. It's open till late and there's all these flavors to choose (and try) from. Although my favorites are original and taro, I always try the new flavors and once in a while add a dollop of something new that I liked. The toppings selection is good too and I can get a little bit of everything without having to agonize over which 2 toppings to get ("have them all!").

Pinkberry didn't become as popular as they are today in nyc when I lived there so I'm afraid I have never tried it...

I found most stuff at Central market - They have quite a good collection of Turin brand liquor-filled chocolate (real liquor), and they also have some wine-filled chocolate on display. They have fresh Turkish fig (I asked a clerk and he told me they have fresh ones. But since I didn't want to fresh ones because I'm taking them abroad, I didn't go check them out) and dried Californian mission figs. As for dates, they have some medjool dates in the bulk section and packaged ones in the aisles.

Well, just want to post my experience in case anybody is looking for the same sort of stuff.

My mom loves liquor-filled chocolate and Turkish figs. I've looked up and down for the chocolates. I've seen some liquor-flavored (no alcohol) chocolate from Turin, but not the real deal (with real liquor!). I've seen them being sold individually in gift shops. Where can I find a good selection? What's a good brand that is not extremely expensive (<$5 per piece)?

As for the figs, I couldn't find them last Christmas. Not even at Central market. I'm about to start looking soon - will someone please point me in the right direction? Thanks!